With the onset of graduation and the end of leases, the city of Ames sees a rise the numbers of abandoned animals.

“It increases about 26 percent this time of year for us,” said Lorna Lavender, supervisor of the Ames Animal Shelter.

Nearly 1,500 animals go through the shelter over the course of the year, she said.

People leave behind their animals for a number of reasons. People are transient, some are graduating and others have leases that expire and the cannot find housing where animals are accepted, Lavender said. Because of these factors, the people let the animals loose or leave them behind in their old apartments.

“Typically cats are abandoned more readily than dogs,” Lavender said.

The Ames Animal Shelter accepts animals people can no longer keep. The goal of the shelter is to provide care, to keep the animals healthy and to find a replacement home.

Another function of the animal shelter is to track the owners of the abandoned animals. If the owner is found, the animal shelter will file abandonment charges with the Ames Police Department and the owner will have to pay a fine.

There are two possible fines. If the shelter chooses to file on a municipal level, the fine is $47. The shelter can also file a simple misdemeanor on the state level. The fine for a charge on the state level is assigned by a judge and can cost between $1 and $100 plus court costs.

Lavender said it is hard to prove that the animal was abandoned unless it was found in a place like an apartment.

Instead of abandoning the animals, people should bring them to the animal shelter, she said.